


The Tomlinsons: Darcy's First Day

by unintentionalove



Series: The Tomlinsons [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Kid Fic, M/M, Near Future
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-26
Updated: 2015-10-26
Packaged: 2018-04-28 06:24:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5081077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unintentionalove/pseuds/unintentionalove
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry and Louis prepare for their first daughter's first day of school.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Tomlinsons: Darcy's First Day

**Author's Note:**

> A little over 7K words about Darcy's first day of school! It's a rough cut because it's had no eyes on it other than my own, but I wanted it published because it was requested and I was delayed. Sorry for that! Standard warning, I don't own anything here but my own work and interpretation. Enjoy!

Harry felt a hand grip his arm, stirring him from a perfect REM sleep. The hand gently shook. Rather than be startled, a slow smile began to spread across his lips. He knew what was coming next.

“Daddy. Daddy, wake up”, a soft voice whispered. “Daddy, I can't sleep anymore.”

Harry conspicuously squinted one eye open while remaining paralyzed in his sleeping position to see the red numbers peering out at him from his analogue clock. It glowed an angry 6:02 AM on the dot. He had to give the little half pint one thing, she was incredibly punctual. He closed his eye just as quickly as he had opened it. Better wake up with her now, Louis had been up late the night before taking care of some business, and if he let her go she'd be on to him next. He'd never be anything but patient and soft and wonderful with their little girl, but he'd hate to wake him, anyway.

He blinked his eyes open to bring her face into focus. Two big brown eyes, the color of roasted coffee beans, peered back at him, framed by thick black lashes. Her little pink mouth was in a perfect pout, her cheeks flushed from having recently woken from her sleep. Her heart-shaped face was outlined by a mess of golden brown ringlets, shining glossy in the early morning sunlight that filtered through the windows. She had her head cocked to one side with her chin stuck out and her hands on her hips. Harry had to give a soft chuckle to himself, she looked like a miniature Louis, all sass and fire with the perfect coating of sweetness, just enough to lure you in. She was irresistible in her purple striped pajamas with the feet and the little rainbow teddy bear tucked under one arm. 

“Hullo, bug”, Harry rasped a whisper. Her face lit up and she tugged his arm out from underneath the duvet. 

“Daddy, Aunt Gemma said she was coming over today with Aunt Lottie. Is she coming over, Daddy? Is she?” Harry shook his head fast to try and wake himself a bit. Darcy never left time for him to come to in the morning before she was off on her questions. He always enjoyed coming up with answers, but usually Louis took over in the morning. It had been a dramatic change of pace, Harry never thought he'd live to see the day when Louis would be sharp as a whip in the morning. The six years they'd been together before Darcy came along, mornings had been strictly off limits with Louis. After Darcy, he had slowly acclimated to them. As she grew older, roles had flopped. Louis always made her breakfast and spent the morning with her, Harry was in charge of bath and bedtime in the evening. 

“Did Aunt Gemma say she was coming over today?” Harry whispered. He was acutely aware of Louis' weight still beside him, softly dozing. He hadn't stirred yet and Harry was shocked. He sat upright and flipped the duvet back behind him. A cool rush of air fell over his bare shoulders and chest. He felt his shoulder blades begin to involuntarily separate and gave himself over to the stretch, breathing deep and tossing his hair back as he did. He automatically snapped the elastic at his wrist and grabbed his hair into a pony tail before spinning it into a bun. Darcy ran over to his leg and propped her arms on it. Harry grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her weight up, wrapping her legs around his torso and carrying her from the room.

“She did say! She said she would. Her and Aunt Lottie together. For my first day of school!” Darcy's whisper had turned into somewhat of a shriek of excitement as they ventured further from the bedroom where a sleeping Louis still lay snoring, but Harry still pressed a soft finger to his lips. 

“We don't want to wake up your brother and sister, do we bug? Tea with just you and me?” His voice was still raspy from sleep, but Darcy pulled back a bit and flashed her brilliant smile. She pressed a finger to her lips to mirror his and began to giggle softly. He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead and plodded into the kitchen, where a small breakfast nook sat, surrounded by bench seats and chairs and windows on all sides. The early morning sunlight poured over the horizon of the hill out back and beamed through the glass, creating a warm space around the table. Harry bent at the waist and placed Darcy carefully into a spot on the bench side of the table, opposite two small booster seats where the twins normally sat when they were awake at this hour. 

“You know, bug,” he began gently, “I still don't think Rupert Bear belongs at the table. He's very special, you know.” Darcy had sat the rainbow bear up on the table, legs dangling off and facing her. 

“Rupert Bear is special just like me, daddy. He likes to come to tea. Tea is for special babies.” A smile cracked Harry's face as he filled the kettle and set it on the stove, watching Darcy swing her legs from the seat in which she sat. She had her chin propped on her hand and a stray curl was dangling in her eyes as she began to talk to the bear. Harry walked over to the refrigerator and removed a lemon from the bottom most bin and took it over to the cutting board on the counter next to the stove top. He began slicing it as the kettle worked. Darcy would get hot water with lemon and honey, as always. That was her “tea”. Louis kept saying they needed to introduce her to “proper tea” (that was Yorkshire Tea), but Harry insisted they keep her free of tea and coffee as long as possible. 

The kettle whistled and Harry removed it from the heat, pouring the steaming water into two white mugs with rainbow waves painted on them. He plunked several lemon slices into a cup and drizzled honey from the jar on the counter into the mug before stirring with a small spoon. He'd let hers cool while he prepared his own, dunking tea bags down into the water and gathering the cream and sugar, something he only indulged in on special mornings. This morning was a special one. They'd had her all to themselves for almost five years exactly, but today Darcy was going to school for the first time. He and Louis had had serious conversations about homeschooling her-- possibly even taking her on the road with them. The decision had been reached that she needed some semblance of normalcy, and with the band preparing a reunion tour, the more normal the kids had, the better. 

He stirred the cream into his now darkened mug, and carried the two over to the table, setting the lemon water down in front of Darcy. 

“Special tea for a special little girl”, he croaked. He sat down in the chair just next to her and crossed one leg over the other under the table, stirring his tea quickly before bringing the hot liquid up to his mouth to take a sip. The wood of the chair traced cold patterns over his bare back. He looked into Darcy's coffee brown eyes and smiled. “Are you ready for your first day, bug?”

“'Course she is”, a voice said from kitchen entryway. Harry craned his neck round to see Louis coming towards them out of his peripherals, before feeling two warm, strong hands grip his shoulders and a kiss nestled into the back of his head. “She was born ready.” Darcy's face split into a smile. She stood on the bench and practically leapt into Louis' arms. Louis, for his part, was quick and caught her with a laugh playing on his lips.

“Good morning, papa!” Darcy squeaked. She laced her fingers together behind Louis' neck and planted a kiss on his cheek. Louis returned the favor and brought her head into his shoulder for a snuggle.

“Morning, darling.”

“Papa, did you know that 'darling' and 'Darcy' sound the same? They do!” Louis shot a smug look over at Harry's face, and Harry smirked in turn. 

“We've got a smart one, dad”, Louis chuckled. 

“That we do”. Harry ruffled Darcy's hair and planted another kiss on her cheek before turning to Louis. “Twins still not up?” Louis shook his head.

“Nah. Checked on 'em just before I came down and they were still sound asleep.”

“I'll take it. Had a hell of a time getting them down for bedtime last night because someone wouldn't shut up on the phone.” Harry's eyes narrowed and Louis stuck his tongue out at him. Darcy swiveled her face towards Harry and mimicked Louis' face, eyes squinted and tongue out. She'd patiently been resting on Louis' hip, but she started to absentmindedly trace patterns on his bare chest. 

“Papa, daddy says you never shut up. Why don't you ever shut up?” Harry tilted his head back and let out a guffaw of a laugh before clapping his hand over to keep from waking the twins upstairs. Louis tossed his head and cocked a hip to the side, bringing Darcy's weight with him. 

“You should ask daddy about his interviews.” Darcy got a quizzical look on her face and looked over at Harry with her head tipped to one side, her curls tilting along with it. Harry squinted at Louis. “Daddy likes to wax poetic”, Louis chuckled.

“And papa waxes his nipples.” Louis' mouth dropped open and he slowly swiveled his head in Harry's direction. Harry's face elongated and his eyes sparkled in an expression that told Louis he was sorry that he wasn't sorry for his comment. Darcy didn't seem to take note, she squirmed in Louis' arms until he set her back down at the table and turned to Harry to roll his eyes and press a kiss to his lips. 

“Good morning, love. Nice way to start the day. Ten dollars says she repeats that to someone at the worst time.” Harry wrapped his arms a little tighter around Louis' torso.

“I'm not taking that bet. I already know it'll happen.” He sunk his face down into the crook of Louis' neck and breathed a small sigh. “Ready for today?” Louis pulled back to look at Harry.

“I've never been ready for this day. I would very much like to keep her all to ourselves forever. Sometimes the idea of leaving her and the twins for this damn tour makes me angry. I wish taking them with us were the best decision. Why can't it be the best decision?”

“I don't want them exposed to the road, Lou. We talked about that. It's better and safer for the kids to stay here. Besides, Gemma's got the kid thing on the level. Said so herself.” Louis raised his eyebrows. 

“'The kid thing'. Right. That inspires loads of confidence.” His tone was dripping with sarcasm and Harry's mouth hitched up at the sides. They heard a cry from upstairs, almost like an alarm bell. 

“That'll be the twins. Can you make her breakfast? And Louis?”

“Mmm?”

“No sugary cereal.”

“Look, D. Daddy says no fun this morning.” Harry rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders forward into a laugh as he turned on his heel out of the kitchen and bounded up the stairs to the twins bedroom. He was going to have to put a shirt on at some point, it was freezing in the house this morning. He grasped the door knob and twisted, peering his head in at a whining, squirming mop of strawberry blonde hair. He walked over to the bed and plunked himself down next the green-eyed, freckle-faced little boy. 

“Good morning, Little H. Why so sad?” He nipped Henry's cheek with his fingers and the little boy began to sniffle and stick out his lower lip, the piercing green of his eyes made all the more sharp by the tears that formed in the corners.

“B-b-Bryony!” Harry's eyes shot over to the bed across the room, where a lump lay entirely concealed by covers, wriggling underneath and creating a rippling effect. He pursed his lips to conceal a smile. Henry needed shows of solidarity. His big sisters (Bryony only “big” by three minutes) were usually picking on him. He was gentle and kind hearted and rarely fought back. Seemed like he'd had his limit, though, that morning. Harry heaved himself off the bed and stepped carefully over to the other side of the room. He peeled back the blue duvet to reveal another strawberry topped shortie with big green eyes, the color of a shamrock, and a smattering of freckles across her pale cheeks and pointed little nose.

“Bryony Jane,” Harry started, “did you take your brother's teddy bear again?” She covered her mouth with the back of her hand and let out a giggle that sounded like bells tinkling. It's how she'd gotten the nickname “Tink” with Harry and Louis, she was the Tinkerbell to Louis' Peter Pan, always up for mischief and usually the one instigating it, but sometimes she went a bit too far and Peter had to remind her who was boss. Harry removed a few more inches of covers to reveal a tawny colored bear. It was quite nondescript, but Henry loved that bear with all of his almost-three-year-old heart. “Bry, what has daddy told you about taking things that don't belong to you? You have your own bear.” Harry moved the tiny, miniature rainbow bear back into Bryony's arms and took the tawny colored bear. “Now, go say you're sorry, please, and give your brother back his teddy.”

Bryony stuck her lip out in a pout. She had trouble admitting wrongdoing and apologizing, it was something they were working on with her. She swung herself off of her bed in one lithe motion -she was as dexterous and quick as Louis- snatched the bear from Harry's arms and toddled over to Henry's bed where he still lay sniffling. 

“Sorry, bruhvah. Sorry.” She bent down and hugged his neck. The sniffling immediately stopped as Henry threw his arms around his sister's neck in turn. He was quick to accept apologies and rarely held grudges against people, bless him. Harry's face melted at the two of them embracing as he stood from Bryony's bed and stretched out his legs. 

“Alright, you two, c'mon. Papa's made breakfast.” He hoisted Henry out of his bed, planting him firmly on the carpet before grasping a little hand in each of his and stooping slightly to walk them out of their bedroom, down the hall, and down the stairs. As they were reaching the bottom, Harry swinging Bryony from step to step and causing her to shriek in laughter while Henry positioned himself sideways and teetered slowly on each edge before plunking his foot down on the next step, the front door swung open. 

“Heeelllooooo!” Gemma's loud voice echoed around the foyer. 

“Aunt Gemma!” Darcy came sprinting from the kitchen, a blur of limbs and ringlets.   
“Hello, darling!” Gemma grasped Darcy under the arms and lifted her in a spin before balancing her weight on her hip. “How's the breakfast today? Any good? Who made it?”

“Papa did!”

“Mm. Better not then.” Gemma's tone was dripping with sarcasm and Harry let out a laugh. 

“He's nearly perfected his Eggs Benedict, Gem. You should really give them a try.”

“After the great Hollandaise Mishap of 2016? No thank you!” Gemma walked over to Harry and swung her free arm around his neck, giving him a kiss on the cheek in greeting.

“I beg your pardon,” Louis said from the kitchen archway he was leaning against, “that was one time and no one told me you had to continuously whisk.”

“I thought you didn't know what whisking was, bro.” Louis' eyes narrowed. A smile lingered at the corner of his lips and he turned on heel and disappeared back into the kitchen without a word. Gemma slid Darcy's weight back down to the floor and stooped down on a knee to press kisses to Henry's and Bryony's cheeks. 

They all walked into the kitchen together, Darcy looking up to Gemma two steps before the table,

“Aunt Gemma, did you know that Papa waxes his nipples?” Harry's laugh was involuntary and Louis' head jerked 'round, his cheeks the color of roses and his eyes wide. 

“Darcy JoAnne! I'm sure Aunt Gemma didn't need to know that!”

“Oh but I really, really did.” Gemma smirked at Louis from across the room and bit into an apple just as Louis was heaving a sigh. 

“Took her all of twenty minutes, Harold. Twenty minutes and she's repeating that. Today should be an interesting day at school.”

“Yeah,” Gemma started, “if that's what she can let slip in ten minutes, think about the things she can let slip in eight hours.” Louis let out a groan as he slid poached eggs out of their water and onto the muffins he'd toasted. 

“Gemma, make yourself useful for me and get the bowls of fruit out of the fridge for the twins.” Louis was feigning irritation, a favorite game between the two of them. It hadn't taken long for Gemma and Louis to care about each other eleven years ago, and that relationship had only grown with time. Harry had grown quite used to Gemma calmly explaining Louis' thoughts whenever he and Louis were arguing. He'd always accused her of “taking his side” but what he'd never admit to was how thankful he was for their relationship and how it helped him make sense of the world that two of the people he cared the most about were such similar human beings. 

Gemma tossed her platinum blonde hair behind her shoulder and looked over at the twins. “Papa made eggies for everyone else but you two get berries and nanas. How does that make you feel?”

“Oh for god's sake, Gem, they're not on an interview.”

“Papa, I want eggies!” Bryony shouted from her booster seat. Louis' eyes narrowed and Gemma shot him a smirk from across the breakfast table. 

“My work here is done.” Gemma folded her hands on top of each other on the table and threw her shoulders back in pride. Louis was smirking over the plates of eggs and looking up towards the ceiling, shaking his head from side to side. Harry turned toward Bryony and patted her knee under the table.

“Don't worry, Tink. Daddy'll give you some bites of eggs. But fruit will make you run faster next time Aunt Gemma is telling you that you've been naughty.” Bryony's eyes widened and swiveled back and forth between Harry, Gemma, and Louis. Louis plunked two bowls of fresh fruit down in front of the twins and laughed. Gemma pursed her lips but didn't comment further.

“'Ello?” A voice boomed from the doorway. Two minutes later, two muscled frames stood in the kitchen archway, faces beaming. It had been months since Harry and Louis had seen either Liam or Niall, and Harry hopped up from the table to greet them. 

“Well isn't it just a proper family breakfast?” Louis cracked as he wrapped his arms around Liam.

“Sorry, mate. Know we're early, but Niall insisted.”

“I'm nothing if not punctual.”

“Niall when were you ever punctual?” Gemma shouted from the table.

“Shut it, Gem!” Darcy came skipping towards the four of them and tugged on Liam's shirt hem.

“Hi Uncle Liam! Guess what?”

“What's that, D?” Liam bent to be closer to her face as Darcy flipped her ringlets behind her and squared her chest in importance.

“Today's my first day of school! And I'm almost five years old!”

“I know! What a big girl you're getting to be! Daddy and Papa must be proud!”

“The most proud”, Louis said softly from the corner. Harry nodded his head vigorously. Without missing a beat, Darcy turned to Niall and tugged on his shirt hem.

“Hey Uncle Niall! Guess what?”

“What's up, Little D?”

“Papa waxes his nipples!”

“And it's time to go back to the breakfast table, Darcy JoAnne!” Louis grabbed her hand and heaved a sigh as Harry, Liam, and Niall threw their heads back and laughed loud, booming laughs that echoed around the house.

“It's not like we didn't know that ten years ago, Tommo!” Liam ribbed. “By the way, Harry. Speaking of nipples. Put a bloody shirt on. I feel like we're back in The X Factor House again.”

“Yeah, mate. No one wants to see that!” Niall chimed in.

“I want to see it!” Louis shouted quite predictably from the table where he was wiping off the twins faces and fingers and picking pieces of fruit that had gone overboard to put back in their bowls. Liam and Niall rolled their eyes as Harry shrugged.

“Over ten years later and you lads still can't see that bit coming?” Gemma chuckled as she pushed her way past the three of them through the kitchen archway, hand in hand with Darcy. She looked over at Harry, “Little Miss and I are going to get dressed for the big day. We'll be back.” Harry nodded.

“So, Liam. How is Sophia? And the baby?” Harry was always the first to ask about babies. Today was no exception. Sophia had just given birth three weeks ago, and though Harry and Louis had wanted to fly themselves and the kids back to London to be there, the twins had been sick so it had been a no-go. 

“Excellent. Didn't really want to leave, to be honest. But you know Soph is a pro at this now. She knows how it goes. Even told me to bring back a nanny before I reminded her I was going to America and then she thought twice.”

“You definitely want a British nanny”, Louis said. He was setting the twins fruit bowls down into the sink. 

“Or an Irish one”, Niall added.

“Or no nanny at all.” Harry said quite finally.

“It would be you to say that, Harold. Look not everyone can handle three children and a full business schedule like you do. We're not all baby whisperers.” Harry grinned at Louis as Henry toddled over and tugged on Harry's pant leg. 

“What is it, Little H?” Henry furrowed his brows but didn't speak. He was much too sheepish to speak in front of people he didn't see every day. Harry was trying to build his confidence and comfort around “strangers”. After all, Liam and Niall weren't strangers, just strange to Henry. “Come on, love. Tell Daddy out loud. No whispers.” Henry stood with his eyes wide, peering up at Harry and rapidly blinking over to Liam and Niall, his cheeks turning red. “It's okay, H. They won't bite.” Henry looked over to them again as Liam smiled and nodded his head in encouragement. 

“Stego Shoes” Henry barely whispered.

“Sorry?” Niall said. Harry started chuckling and nodding his head down at Henry.

“Okay, Little H. We'll wear the Stego Shoes today.”

“What in the bloody hell are the Stego Shoes?” Niall said, his brow furrowing in question.

“I'll thank you very much to watch your mouth, Neil”, Louis chimed in from where he stood putting Bryony's hair back into a high pony tail. 

“Lou, you know I don't like it when you brush hair in the kitchen. It's gross.” 

“Listen, curly. Some of us do have to start getting ready, you know. It's nearly a quarter past seven and we have to be there by eight.” Harry jumped slightly. Niall and Liam looked at each other and began to back out of the kitchen.

“Right then. We'll be in the studio out back. It's not locked, is it?”

“Nah,” Harry replied, “but just in case, there's a key under the rock next to the door.” 

“Oh that's original, Styles. No one would ever figure that one out.”

“Excuse me, Liam. If they can get past the nearly million dollar security system this house has, then a fake rock decoy is the least of my concerns.”

“Good point! See you two lads soon!” With that, he and Niall turned and disappeared down the corridor along the kitchen to the back of the house to make their way to the studio Harry and Louis had put in a few years ago. It was convenient for everyone and would come in handy today while Darcy was at school and the twins were out with Gemma. 

Louis walked over to Harry and kissed him on the cheek, throwing his arms around his neck and lacing his fingers together behind him. 

“Go ahead and get dressed, love. I'll take care of dressing the twins.”

“Papa?”

“Yes, darling.” Louis got all the way down to the floor on his knees and gripped Bryony by the waist. “What is it? What do you need?” Bryony batted her eyelashes and smiled bashfully up at Louis.

“Can I wear my fairy wings today?” The smile that spread across Louis' face reached up to his eyes, which crinkled at the corners as he squinted in happiness.

“'Course you can, Tink! Maybe we'll even do the glitter today!” Harry cleared his throat.

“Glitter will have to wait until after we get home from taking big sister to school, Tink. Now. Do you think it's time to go get clothes on? Can you beat Papa to your room?” Bryony took off for the stairs with Henry toddling after her. Harry turned to Louis with a twinkle in his eyes.

“What?”

“Tink and Twink. My favorites.” Louis' eyes narrowed. 

“You know I hate it when you call me that, Harold.”

“No you don't. And since she came along it's gotten even better. Tink and Twink. You could be your own Marvel strip. The Adventures of Tink and Twink!”

“I'll show you a fucking twink,” Louis said as he punched Harry in the arm as he walked past him out of the kitchen. Harry threw his head back and laughed. He didn't honestly know if he'd still describe Louis as a twink. He certainly was when they'd first met, but he had lost some of it as he'd gotten older. Still, Harry like to remind him often where he came from and the Louis he had fallen in love with eleven years ago. He left the kitchen and climbed the stairs, passing Louis pulling a maroon sweater over Henry's head in the twins bedroom and Gemma brushing Darcy's hair in her bedroom.

He clicked on the light in the ensuite and turned on the sink. As he squirted toothpaste on his toothbrush and began to brush, his mind wandered to the day Darcy was born and the subsequent years that followed. It was nearly impossible to believe the milestones they had passed recently. He and Louis had celebrated ten years together the previous year. The twins had been born. Louis had been flourishing in his writing and producing, winning awards left and right. His continued success in the business of everything had given Harry time to take a breather and soak in what their life had become. Quietly domestic, nothing they'd ever dreamed it would be five or six years ago. 

He picked up a bottle of wash from the cabinet, squeezed some gel onto his hands, and began to massage his cheeks with the pads of his fingertips. He found comfort in the morning routine. He'd have to adjust to a new normal yet again now that Darcy would be starting school. The decision to send her off somewhere hadn't been easy. She was gifted and talented, they were told, naturally clever. They'd had to make sure she was secure where they were sending her. They'd ultimately settled on a Montessori school that had experience with sensitive cases, the children of celebrities-- even as much as Harry hated that word. 

As he patted his face with a towel and began to apply his moisturizer, Louis appeared behind him in the mirror. He wordlessly picked up his toothbrush and began the same routine Harry had just gone through. He was fully clothed already, which surprised Harry. He never knew how Louis moved so fast and got everything done so quickly. He'd grown more efficient when Darcy was born, even more so when the twins came along, but Louis was like lightning. As he walked out of the ensuite, he gave Louis' bum a little pat.

“'Eyyy”, Louis chuckled. 

“How could you not?!” Harry called from the bedroom as he pulled open a bureau drawer and removed a pair of navy boxer briefs. 

“What, no panties today?” Louis chided as he walked out of the bathroom and sat down on the bed to put the pair of black socks in his hand on his feet.

“I only save those for special occasions.” Louis smirked at Harry's comeback.

“Well maybe tonight can be a special occasion.”

“Easy”, Harry said as he stuck his leg into one side and hopped into the other, “I didn't even get to eat my breakfast with all the craziness.”

“Neither did I. I wrapped them up. When we get home and Gemma takes the twins, we'll have breakfast just you and me.” Louis winked at Harry, who smiled back in turn as he pulled his jeans on and hopped a few steps to bring them up before buttoning them.

“Can you grab my brown boots from the closet?”

“Which brown boots, Harold? You have like fifty pairs of brown boots and they all look the same.”

“Excuse me. They do not 'all look the same', Lou. That's a lie. And I was gonna wear the Louis Vuitton ones but never mind now.” Louis rolled his eyes and heaved himself off of the bed with a smile, lumbering his way over to their expansive closet as Harry slipped his arms through a soft t-shirt. He planned on being comfortable today. He was too emotional for fashion.

Louis emerged from the closet and chucked a pair of soft black leather boots at Harry. 

“I thought I said the brown ones.”

“Well because of your cheek ya got black. Deal with it, curly.” Harry didn't have time to protest so he stuck his feet in the boots and pulled them up. At least they had a proper heel. It would keep the weight off of his bad heels that he'd been struggling with again. As he zipped up his right sided boot, Henry came running into their bedroom, Gemma quickly following. 

“Oh thank god you're both dressed. I thought we might have a repeat. Or what do you call it when it's happened more than twice? Is it still a repeat?”

“Shut up, Gem”, Harry muttered good naturedly. Henry tugged the hem of Harry's shirt and stuck his foot out. The green hightop had stegosaurus spikes extending along the back heel side of the shoe, and a horn on the toe. Louis had bought them as a present not too long ago, and they had quickly become Henry's most prized possession. Henry and Louis had a special relationship, he was so vastly different from Louis, but in Henry there was a smaller reflection of Harry. It's why they called him “Little H”. And where Louis and Darcy or Bryony could make mischief together and take the piss out of everyone, Louis' natural patience and kindness exuded itself whenever he was with Henry, same as he always was with Harry. Henry needed time and understanding the most, and Louis was always the first to give it to him. 

“Those are the sickest shoes, Little H.” Louis held his hand down low for Henry to give it a slap, which he did with a wide grin on his face. 

“Alright, you two really should get going. She's got to be there soon and you'll be late, as usual.” Harry slipped his arm around Louis' waist and gave a quick squeeze. 

“It'll be okay, love”, Louis whispered in Harry's ear. Harry nodded slightly to acknowledge Louis' whisper and spread a smile across his face, though it didn't reach his eyes. Louis always knew when Harry needed him to take point, and he wasted no time in doing so.

“Darcy JoAnne! It's time to go!” Louis called, slapping his hands together and rubbing them in anticipation. The herd that had gathered in their bedroom began to migrate out and down the hall, towards the staircase. They all seemed to move as one entity, with the twins babbling to themselves in their own little language and Gemma telling Harry about a friend who had failed to call and Louis trying to locate Darcy in all of the madness. She seemed to appear out of thin air, her hair bouncing in two braided pigtails she'd no doubt coerced out of Gemma, a gray cardigan hanging off her shoulders and excitement brewing in her laughter because her socks had lace on them. 

“Did you see them, Papa? They're special!”

“I did see them! Did daddy buy those for you? Where are your shoes?” Louis didn't need an answer to the first or second questions. He knew Harry had bought socks with lace because of course Harry had bought socks with lace. He knew Darcy's shoes were in the closet off the kitchen. As he reached the bottom of the staircase, he picked Darcy's hand out of the crowd and sat her on a bench before opening the hall closet and selecting a small pair of shiny leather Mary Janes from the organizer Harry had demanded they buy to sort out the gaggle of kids shoes. He turned back to Darcy and got down on his knees.

“Lou?” Harry called from the kitchen. 

“Putting D's shoes on! Get the twins in the car!” Harry poked his head round the wall and gave a mock salute to Louis and a wink before disappearing again. “Are you ready for school today?” Louis asked as he gently seized one of Darcy's feet and began to slip her shoe on. She nodded, but was quieter than she had been all morning. 

“Papa?”

“Mmm?”

“Is it okay if I have butterflies in my tummy?” Louis' face melted as he looked up into the wide cocoa eyes staring back at him with what he guessed was five-year-old apprehension. He reached up from the shoe and tucked a stray ringlet behind Darcy's ear. 

“'Course it's okay, darling. But you know what? I'll bet they'll be gone by the end of the day. You like new friends, yeah?” Darcy nodded her head, a hint of the smile returning. “Well there'll be lots of them to be made today. And lots of new things. And daddy and papa will be there at the end of the day for you to tell us everything, right?” A genuine smile broke on Darcy's face again as Louis secured the buckle on the other shoe and nipped her chin with his finger. “You'll be great, Little D. 'Sides, butterflies just mean it's gonna be a beautiful day.” Darcy tossed her arms around Louis' neck and he caught the hug, lifting her up off the bench and planting kisses on her cheeks as he carried her through the kitchen to the door off the pantry that lead to the garage.

They arrived at the school with five minutes to spare, the twins happily swinging their legs in their car seats as they munched on Goldfish crackers and watched old episodes of Bananas in Pyjamas on the cars DVD player. Louis had no idea how Harry had managed to snag that one, but he never put anything past him anymore. 

“Alright, Harold. Can you unbuckle the twins and I'll get Darcy ready with everything?” Harry nodded and looked over at him with his eyes twinkling.

“One of the advantages of being a washed up rockstar is that we don't need security here today”. Louis threw his head back and laughed, a piece of hair falling between his glasses and his eyes. He brushed it back and leaned over to kiss Harry before swinging the door of the car open and stepping out. He slid open the back door on his own side and began to unbuckle Darcy as Harry reached in to unbuckle the twins.

“Okay now listen you two,” Louis said when he had helped Darcy on with her pack and rounded the other side to face Harry and the twins, “best behavior, yeah? Bryony Jane, you keep on Daddy's hand and don't cause any mischief.” Bryony gave a sly grin and buried her face into Harry's coat. 

They made their way into the school, a motley crew, with Darcy getting an increased look of concentration and concern on her face. Louis squeezed the hand he was holding and she looked up at him to have him wink at her. The flurry of parents and children was overwhelming, but Darcy had always been the brave sort. They entered the classroom to see a new crop of parents and kids and two younger women stood in the corner, one with straight blonde hair and sharp blue eyes, the other with a mess of brown curls and a kind smile on her face. Louis caught Harry's attention and tossed his head to signal him to walk over to them. He caught the blonde's attention and she smiled as he stuck his hand out.

“Louis Tomlinson.”

“Angela Watkins. Pleasure.” She shook his hand firmly and reached over to grasp Harry's hand as Louis moved to shake the other woman's hand.

“Jennifer Olson. Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Tomlinson. Mr. Styles.” She smiled and looked down kindly at Darcy. “You must be Darcy. It's so nice to meet you. Are you ready to have fun today?” Darcy returned Jennifer Olson's kind smile and nodded. “I see you have a Hello Kitty lunchbox. I loved her when I was your age, too. How about we go put that lunch box in your cubbie hole?” She reached her hand out and Darcy smiled but looked over to Harry, who nodded encouragingly before Darcy grasped the hand offered and walked off, Harry's and Louis' eyes following her. 

“And who might you be?” Angela Watkins asked, bending slightly at the knee to talk to Henry, whose eyes went wide and immediately stepped behind Harry's leg. Bryony, however could not be intimidated that easily.

“Henry doesn't talk to strangers.” She said confidently, putting her hands on her hips. Louis smiled with amusement in his eyes.

“Oh I see”, Angela said, glancing at the coloring book Bryony had insisted on bringing in with her. “And you would be Bree-ah-nee?”, Angela asked, pronouncing the name inked on the cover of the coloring book. Louis choked and spluttered a bit before Harry whacked him on the back, bursting into a giggle that left a bemused look on Angela's face. Bryony hands went staunch on her hips, her eyes narrowed, and her chin jutted out.

“It's Breye-uh-nee”, she said in an annoyed fashion, drawing out the “i” in the first syllable of her name. 

“Oh, I see. Well forgive me, Bryony”, Angela nearly giggled, her hand at her mouth. She tossed her head over to Louis and winked. 

“Do either of you have any questions I can answer before we get the class started today?”

“I think we had most of them answered in our meeting with Carol awhile ago. We're excited to see how she can progress here. I doubt she'll get home sick, but are there provisions in place if she does?” Harry asked.

“Absolutely. If we feel that she's a bit overwhelmed, we'll give you a call.”

“Excellent”, Louis smiled. Jennifer came back with Darcy hand in hand, clearly best friends already. Darcy had always been good at making friends with adults. Louis bent down to her eye level. “Now listen, darling. Papa and Daddy are very proud of you, yeah? Learn a lot today and if you need us, just let Ms. Jennifer or Ms. Angela know, alright?” Darcy nodded. Louis kissed her on the cheek and gave her a squeeze before straightening up and stepping aside to let Harry repeat him. Harry bent and fixed the top button on her cardigan.

“If you need anything at all today, you just ask to call us, okay? I want to hear all about it when we get back. And maybe we'll go out for some frozen yogurt after you're done today, alright? Daddy loves you, Little D.” Harry kissed the top of her head and straightened back out before grasping Louis again by the waist and smiling at the teachers. “Have a good day all of you.”

“Oh, I'm sure we will!” Angela said cheerfully. Harry and Louis grabbed the twins hands.

“Say bye to your sister, you two.” Bryony looked confused but waved at Darcy. 

“Bye siss-uh!” She chimed and Henry waved, as well, but as usual didn't say anything and let Bryony speak for him. Her chimes of “bye siss-uh!” kept ringing as Harry and Louis turned and left the classroom with the twins. When they were out in the hallway, his eyes slid over to Louis, whose lips were arranged in a firm line on his face. Harry squeezed his hand and Louis finally looked over at him, too.

“Nothing to cry about, Haz.”

“Oh do shut up. I'll cry all I like.” Louis chuckled. 

“Well hopefully you're not still crying when we get home. It'll absolutely ruin those eggs benedict.”


End file.
